Now that's more like it!

  Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Friday, September 9, 2016

The bus from Santo Domingo only took about 3 hours so in no time at all we were amongst palm trees and American style malls. Yes you could definitely tell we were in a tourist hot spot here. Almost all the hotels here are the big 5 star type but luckily, we managed to avoid those and found a small one which, although still all-inclusive, had a much cosier feel with a more personal touch. It wasn't right on the beach either but just a 2 minute walk away and they owned a property on the beach front which had a bar and small restaurant, right next to the beautiful sea. When you consider just how big some of those resorts are (and we did go for a wander around a few of them just for a nose) the walk to get from reception to the beach in some cases was almost 15 minutes they were so big. So we were actually closer to the beach here in our little place. This was our first experience of being all inclusive and although a novelty for the first 2 days (no time taken up by considering where to eat every meal time) it soon wore off when routine starts to kick in. For example - no we haven't got time to walk to XYZ because lunch will be served in 45 minutes etc etc. Having said that, Jody was finding it increasingly difficult to find food on the menu she could eat. It seemed as if this Hotel catered largely for the Russian holiday market and everything was meat meat meat. Even at breakfast time they would make scrambled egg but put sausage in it, pasta at lunchtime would have ham in it, vegetables would have tuna mixed in with them. Despite speaking to the hotel staff and their assurances they would try and sort it out for her so there was always a meat free option, every mealtime was the same. Sadly, it became a real chore eventually her diet here consisted of just chips and peas. Terrible! Oh well at least the piña-coladas were vegetarian and there was no shortage of those!We did take walks around the area. We hear so many people say that they were advised not to leave the resort or go into the communities when they come to The Dominican Republic because it's not safe to walk around. However, we know the real reason is that they don't want you see the real price of the trips they sell - compared to buying outside locally and they don't want you to know how much they are ripping you off! Our hotel wasn't giving us that advice in this case - it would be a bit daft seeing as they were a bit more in the town anyway, And the town outside was lovely and with many little market stalls and hidden streets and shops it was a very friendly place to go.  Everywhere we went was covered in beautiful tropical flowers and bougainvillea. The people were really friendly and everyone wants to do a deal with you as most tourists don't venture out. We must make a point of saying just how beautiful the sea was here. Always a lovely temperature and the sand is very soft. It really was a lovely place to relax and unwind (from our previous Caribbean destination maybe Ha Ha!) It started out well here but eventually the food issue seemed to drive us to move on again and it didn't seem like such a good idea to stay any longer and off we went in search of pastures greener. Or just a better buffet at least! We found the Caribe Princess - another all inclusive resort and to be honest - the food wasn't that much better - just more not to choose from for Jody. But certainly much better for Bryan. However we did get a better range of drinks to choose from and Bryan hit the Ameretto and jody the Brandy Alexanders so we were happy. The resort is definitely an upgrade from the last one with a nicer room (and it opened out right onto the beach practically) the facilities were all much nicer here too. There were several restaurants we could choose from - a mexican, an Italian, a fish one, and some others. Although we realised they were all centred around the main buffet style restaurant and all the food came out of the same kitchen regardless of the restaurant you ate in. Apart from the beautiful beach, there really wasn't anywhere else to go from here unless you booked a trip. The hotel was too remote from anywhere else to be able to walk to the town so we felt pretty stuck. Jody's back was by now absolute agony and it was all she could do to walk the few paces to the beach and getting down onto a sunbed was a right performance so getting out and about wasn't really on the cards for her anyway by now. We did pop along to the medical centre to see if we could get anything sorted out for her and they wanted $500 just to look at her and give her pain relief. You can imagine what we said to that and bought some paracetamol! It didn't really do the trick so Brandy Alexanders to the rescue now - just obscure the pain with alcohol. We found out later she had a herniated disc in her back and it was causing severe sciatic pain all the way down her legs - no wonder she was hobbling around like a little old lady! Anyway - if you are going to be stuck anywhere we could not think of anywhere easier to be. So we spent most days reading on the beach or eating and drinking in the restaurant and bars. Not our usual type of relaxation at all but it was all we had so it was a case of making the most of it. The beach was absolutely beautiful here - not the best in the world but the sea was so clear it was just beautiful. Would we come back to The Dominican Republic? Well no not really unless it was with a purpose in mind. However we would recommend the Capital - Santo Domingo - Now that really was a beautiful city and great place to visit.